Vol X No 2

Klein scales, pg. 10Klein scales, pg. 10Klein scales, pg. 10

ORBISAmplifying Vanderbilt’s Progressive Voices Vol. 10/No. 2/Oct/2010

OVERCOMING HATEEqual adoptions & K. C. Potter Center pg. 5

Richard Spencer speaks at Vanderbilt pg. 9Fight back against rising intolerance pg. 11

DEATH PENALTY:

TORCH vs. ORBIS

page 10

Page 2 • ORBIS October 2010In THIS ISSue

co

nte

ntsWith the semester well underway, it’s easy to get lost in the short-term

demands of midterm examinations and papers. Classwork, though, is only one part of your college experience. It’s always important to ask yourself what you can do to help your community.

In this issue of Orbis, our writers confront hate and intolerance in a variety of forms. On page 5, Dylan Thomas discusses the ongoing threats to equal adoption rights for gay, lesbian and unmarried couples. I report on Youth for Western Civilization (pg. 9), a student organization which invited controver-sial writer Richard Spencer to campus for a presentation entitled “The costs of diversity.”

On page 11, Aimee Sobhani discusses intolerance in contemporary politics, arguing that the trend toward hateful is harmful and should be consciously avoided.

We also took time to look at some more optimistic trends. Kirin Masood spotlights Vandy Fems (pg. 3) which is back in a new form to support feminism on Vanderbilt’s campus. On page 5, Andri Alexandrou writes about the prog-ress that the K.C. Potter Center has made in the last few years and reviews hit film The Social Network, a corporate history and commentary on the Facebook generation (pg. 6). Also on the Lifestyle page, Sarah O’Brien shares some tips on the importance of protein in a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Jayna Mumbauer and I investigate The Contributor (pg. 4), a newspaper which is produced and sold primarily by homeless and formerly homeless individuals.

On page 10, we have a special feature in which Orbis’ Steve Harrison faces off with The Torch’s Winston Davis on the controversial issue of the death penalty.

a note from the editor

4424

Published with support from theCenter for American Progress/Campus Progress

Online at http://www.campusprogress.org

ORBISAmplifying Vanderbilt's Progressive Voices

October 2010

Jon ChristianEditor-in-Chief

Carol Chen Associate Editor

Stacy Schlumbrecht Web Editor

erika Hyde Editor Emeritus

Aimee SobhaniCommentary Editor

Andri Alexandrou“The Flip Side” Editor

Meghan O’neillFeatures Editor

Thomas ShattuckDistribution Director

Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail us at [email protected] submissions to the address listed above, or send to Box 1669, Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235.

Letters must be received one week prior to publication and must include the writer's name, year, school and telephone number. All submissions will be verified. Unsigned letters will not be published. Orbis reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. All submissions become property of Orbis and must conform to the legal standards of Vanderbilt Student Communications, Inc., of which Orbis

is a division.

Editorials represent the policy of Orbis as determined by the editorial board. Letters and commentary pieces represent the opinions of the writers.

Please recycle.

Volume 10, number 2

What is Orbis?Orbis aspires to change the atmosphere on Vanderbilt's campus and provides a voice for liberal, multicultural and minority viewpoints. This publication strives to inform the public about issues that these groups face as well as to promote diver-sity and unity within our community. It is a forum for discussion of social, political and religious commentary relevant to Vanderbilt, the nation and the world. Orbis was founded by a coalition of students seeking to raise consciousness about diverse ideas, cultures and backgrounds in our society. We hope to challenge the existing social atmosphere at Vanderbilt and promote a rebirth of acceptance.

number of American military deaths in Iraq since March 2003

Cover design: Jon Christian

03. Spotlight: Vandy FemsBy Kirin Masood

05. Adoption rights not guaranteed in TNBy Dylan Thomas

05. LGBTQI center works for safety, respectBy Andri Alexandrou

06. Facebook film is the saga of our timeBy Andri Alexandrou

08. Atheists can lead moral livesBy Martha Elmore

09. YWC hosts racist speakerBy Jon Christian

04. Street newspaper makes a differenceBy Jayna Mumbauer & Jon Christian

07. The Edgy Vedgy: protein for prosBy Sarah O’Brien

11. Can we rescue WRVU before January?By Orbis staff

10. Torch vs. Orbis: death penalty By Winston Davis & Steve Harrison

11. Confronting a new wave of intoleranceBy Aimee Sobhani

After two years during which its registration as a student organization lapsed, Vandy Fems is back and ready to make an impact on the greater Vanderbilt community.

The group has existed in some form since 2006 but is only just beginning to grow and flourish into a student organization capable of making a difference at Vanderbilt. In conjunction with the Margaret Cunningham Women’s Center at Vanderbilt University, Vandy Fems aims to raise awareness of all types of women’s issues.

“Currently, the issues at the forefront of the agenda are related to reproductive health, safe sex awareness and power based personal violence,” said president Kathryn Edwards.

The events planned for the rest of the semester include panel discussions and meet-and-greets with individuals associated with feminist issues. So far, the Vandy Fems kicked off the year with a booth at the student organization fair which attracted the attention of a variety of students. According to Edwards, everybody from self-iden-tified progressive liberals to sorority members are interested.

Currently, the group has ten active members and the meetings consist of all of the members converging and discussing different issues. Next semester, Vandy Fems plans to sponsor a showing of the Vagina Monologues.

While Vandy Fems has encountered little resis-tance from the Vanderbilt community, there are issues involving supposed discrepancies between being a “Vandy Girl” and a feminist against which they have struggled. Edwards, however, dismisses this conflict.

“Vandy Fems is not trying to be militant. We are more interested in making an impact on life philosophies rather than insisting that girls stop shaving and stop wearing makeup,” Edwards said.

If the Vandy Fems could change one thing about the Vanderbilt community, it would be the role of Greek life.

“Greek life is incredibly male-dominated, and all the girls get gussied up and go into the frat houses,” Edwards said. “It’s like they’re going in for the slaughter.”

Vandy Fems urges the student population to take an interest in women’s rights because femi-nism is a facet of human rights.

“Students need to know that the world is not just a little bubble that always cares about your feelings,” Edwards said.

Therefore, according to Edwards, it is important for students to discuss women’s rights in the col-lege environment so that they can make a positive impact on the world when they leave Vanderbilt.

Students interested in Vandy Fems are urged to attend meetings at 7:00 on Monday evenings at the Women’s Center. Interested students can also contact Kathryn Edwards at [email protected].

October 2010 ORBIS • Page 3SPOTLIGHT

Vandy Fems resumes work on feminist issues

Check out the overhauled VanderbiltOrbis.comRead articles, send feedback and join the community

http://www.vanderbiltorbis.com

By Kiron MasoodSTAFF WRITER

The Margeret Cuninggim women’s center is being renovated Photo: Andri Alexandrou

Campus Progress’ annual nationalConference in Washington, D.C.

brings together 1,000 students and dozens of leading speakers (including past keynote speakers Bill Clinton and Barack Obama) for issue discussions,

skills trainings and networking. We also hold DC, regional, and campus trainings on journalism, media skills

and grassroots organizing. Visit http://campusprogress.org/national_confer-

ence/ for more.

On a Nashville street corner near you, there are hardworking men and women who brave the ele-ments to sell you The Contributor, the city’s only street newspaper. The Contributor, which is sold and produced primarily by homeless or formerly homeless persons, is intended to give Nashville’s homeless a way to earn income while educating the community on issues that surround homeless-ness.

“I think that Nashville is really a wonderful city that is capable of caring for all of its people, if it can figure out how,” said Contributor editor Andrew Krinks. “Part of what The Contributor does is put poverty into full focus for more peo-ple. It’s hard not to see and notice, and then it’s hard not to care.”

According to Krinks, at The Contributor they make it a point to publish diverse and topi-cal content that actively engages the reader. By emphasizing the contributions of the homeless and formerly homeless, The Contributor seeks to inform and change their readers’ conceptions of homelessness.

The Contributor is a lot of things, but it’s not boring. In addition to news articles and editori-als, the paper saves space for personal narratives, poetry, commentary and puzzles. Writers keep the tone light with puzzles and “hoboscopes.”

Of course, the other purpose of the newspaper is to provide homeless and struggling individuals with a revenue stream. Vendors can spend their earnings however they want. Although 29 percent of Contributor vendors who have sold been sell-ing for more than a month have now found hous-ing, director of vending Thomas Wells explained that it wasn’t easy to convince the first wave of vendors that selling the paper would make a financial difference in their lives.

“Ultimately, that was beyond our ability, as it really took a sixty-plus year old homeless couple to just be brave and stubborn enough to break in 4th and Broadway as ‘their ’ corner,” Wells said. “They were the first vendors to get an official ter-ritory.”

The Contributor costs one dollar. At first, potential vendors are given free papers to sell. If they like the job, they can buy more for $0.25 each.

Tasha French founded The Contributor in 2007, after spending years becoming acquainted with the issue of homelessness in Nashville. After she decided that Nashville needed a street newspaper, French and her staff worked tirelessly for two and a half years on a volunteer basis.

The Contributor wasn’t an instant success. For the first eight months, they did not even have a

central office.A huge windfall to the project was when the

downtown Presbyterian Church offered the staff an office in the back of the church and a lot of support. Wells contributes much of the paper ’s success to the church. French and other key mem-bers of the paper ’s staff are now reimbursed for their efforts.

“The congregation has adopted us, and this year the church outreach committee voted to contribute financially to our budget for the first time,” Wells said. “Though we are not an official ministry of The Downtown Presbyterian Church, we are proudly mentioned in many worship ser-

vices, and the members are our biggest fans.”The Contributor only distributed 6,000-7,000

papers during its first year, but that number has steadily risen. This year, they plan to distribute 500,000 papers. Two hundred homeless individu-als participate in the creation of The Contributor, and the paper is sold by 76 different vendors. According to Krinks, this gives everybody a sense of belonging and active participation in the Nashville community.

“Our vendors are mostly responsible for the growth we’ve experienced. On the obvious level, they sell the papers - and they sell all day long and into the night. They are amazing workers,” said Krinks. “But more than that, they went into areas of town that weren’t welcoming at first, and they stuck it out so that people that started out

giving them dirty looks now buy papers and have become friends in some cases.”

Richard Tyler struggled with a drinking prob-lem for years but was able to maintain a job until 2005, when his mother passed away and he lost his job in only a month’s time. He sank into poverty and depression and eventually ended up among Nashville’s homeless population.

Tyler went through some tough times on the streets, but he credits his experience as a Contributor vendor with helping him build the revenue stream and connections that he needed to get back on his feet. As a Contributor vendor he quit drinking, got his life in order and found a long-term place

to stay.“If this paper

wasn’t out for me to sell , I would be out on the streets - if I was still living,” Tyler said. “You spend enough time out on the streets , and it ’s l ike a dead end. You give up, there’s no more hope. This paper gives me all that.”

By hitting the street six days a week, Tyler can expect to sel l almost a thousand papers a month. He is looking for a job, but in the meantime he

knows that he’ll be able to rely on The Contributor

for income. Tyler also values the sense of the community he

gets from selling a street newspaper. “I love the smiles, man. I love the smiles,” Tyler

said. “When people buy [a paper] and say, ‘God bless you, have a nice day,’ that means a lot more than a dollar.”

Krinks, who plans to attend Vanderbilt Divinity School next year, never forgets the work that count-less individuals have put into The Contributor over the years to get it published and distribute it to the community.

“It is really their perseverance in the face of rejection that has kept this thing going,” said Krinks. “I sometimes realize I don’t have the slightest idea what our vendors go through. They are resilient and brave people.”

Page 4 • ORBIS October 2010FeatuReS

Genuine opportunities for advancement:The remarkable story of Nashville’s only street newspaper

By Jayna Mumbauer & Jon ChristianSTAFF WRITERS

The staff of The Contributor strives to build a sense of community and to educate readers about homeless issues.

Photo: Jon Christian

For nearly two years, a dark cloud has hung over the lives of LGBTQI and unmarried straight couples in Tennessee. Since January 2009, the Tennessee legislature has debated amendments to Tennessee Codes Annotated Title 36 and Title 49, which would add a short clause effectively barring these groups of Tennesseans from adopting children.

According to the proposed clause, adoption rights would be withheld from couples “involved in a cohabi-tating sexual relationship outside of marriage that is valid under the constitution and laws of this state.”

Former State Senator Paul Stanley proposed this article of legislation, which has twice brought the 111th Tennessee Congress to stalemate. However, with elec-tions quickly approaching, SB-0078 still promises to threaten adoption rights with its likely resurrection in 2011.

Many expect a Republican backlash in this election which will amplify conservative opposition to President Barack Obama and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, both Democrats. Meanwhile, popular Davidson County candidates for state Senate, notably James Chesser and Dr. Steve Dickerson, seek to defeat incumbents with their

socially conservative tickets.Issues of gay rights, while not at the forefront of this

election, still remain a key high-conflict issue in the eyes of many Tennesseans - and the candidates recognize this. Sheila Butt, a prospective state representative running for election this November, conducted a push poll in which her campaign called many Davidson County residents at

home to ask how they would feel if her opponent received funds from abortion activists and gay rights groups. Consequently, the Butt campaign inflamed anti-gay and pro-life sentiment against her opponent, Ty Cobb, who her campaign suggested had received such funds.

However, equal adoption rights will find a place on

the 2010 election ballots. The Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), an advocacy group that seeks to defend the rights of the LGBTQI community and other minority groups, is supporting incumbent House representative Butch Borchert and Davidson County’s Sherry Jones for State Representative.

“Sherry is one of the top equality advocates in the General Assembly, and she is opposed by someone who is as far from her politically as he can be,” said TEP Nashville Committee Chair Chris Sanders.

In light of the probable conservative backlash this election season, the future of equal adoption rights in Tennessee seems ominous at first glance. But TEP remains optimistic and will continue fighting against SB-0078 if or when it resurfaces in the 112th Tennessee Congress.

Registered voters in Davidson County should look for these pro-equal adoption candidates on the November ballot. Additionally, TEP is currently phone banking for progressive candidates like Borchert and Jones and is always seeking volunteers; phone banking typically takes only an hour and a half and expands the cause to multi-tudes of Davidson County residents.

TEP is open to new membership for anyone who wants to participate in its fight for adoption rights and LGBTQI equality. TEP accepts donations, seeks volun-teers for special events, and encourages advocacy and education in the name of social equality.

Two years after the K. C. Potter Center found its place on campus, it is going strong and continuing to grow. With programs like Safe Zone, Lavender Graduation Celebration and Out in Front, members and allies of the LGBTQI community at Vanderbilt are still working to create an atmosphere of accep-tance.

According to Nora Spencer, the program coordi-nator of the center, education is the key to change - especially when there still are Vanderbilt students who are unfamiliar or hostile to the LGBTQI com-munity.

“I can’t expect that they’re going to change their hearts and minds,” Spencer said.

In light of recently-publicized harassment-induced student suicides at other universities, the problem of intolerance is ever more pressing.

Awareness, according to Spencer, is not as simple as not using derogatory words or developing empa-thy. It becomes a matter of preparation for the work-place, as well.

“Maybe the best I can do for a really homophobic person is to give them enough knowledge so that they’re not completely hateful of someone who will turn out to be significant in their life,” Spencer said.

The LGBTQI Center was founded two years ago

because of hate. In 2007, a same-sex couple was attacked for holding hands on Vanderbilt’s campus. At first, the center acted only as a safe zone, with one part-time staff member and limited hours. The need for a safe, permanent and open-armed location was obvious.

The K. C. Potter Center now resides in a spacious house between McGill and Greek Row. With lush red couches, stacks of magazines, open kitchen and a full library of popular films, it becomes a proxy home away from dorm away from home. The Center offers a safe haven from intolerance and also provides a relaxing environment for students, faculty and staff.

“On a campus as diverse as Vanderbilt, the K. C. Potter Center gives a sense of community,” said Jordan Walker, a junior. “There are so many minori-ties out there, ethnic minorities and religious minori-ties, and here we have that way to connect to each other.”

Tolerance and community are the main objectives of the K. C. Potter Center, and its many programs seek to help members of the LGBTQI community on campus and in the Nashville community.

“We need to talk about LGBTQI issues even when we’re talking about homelessness or even larger issues that may seem completely unrelated,” said Spencer. “But they never are.”

For example, there is a very real risk of homeless-ness to gay and lesbian individuals when they come

out to their families. This, according to Spencer, is the sort of interconnectivity that needs to be rec-ognized and talked about. No issues are solitary or completely independent of university and Nashville issues.

In the past few years, the K. C. Potter Center has seen many successes and heightened the presence of the LGBTQI community on campus. With lofty goals like promoting equality and understanding, though, their work is never complete.

October 2010 ORBIS • Page 5LGBtQI

K. C. Potter Center continues to striveBy Andri AlexandrouEdIToRIAl STAFF

TN groups, candidates work for equal adoption rightsBy dylan ThomasSTAFF WRITER

Nora Spencer serves cake in the K.C. Potter Center at the Coming out day celebration

Photo: andri alexandrou

According to the proposed clause,

adoption rights would be withheld

from couples “involved in a cohabitat-

ing sexual relationship outside of mar-

riage that is valid under the constitu-

tion and laws of this state.”

Page 6 • ORBIS October 2010ARtS

The Social Network is drama for the internet generation

In The Social Network, David Fincher puts Facebook on the big screen, depicting the first year of its existence and the tribulations of the founding team.

I remember seeing the trailer in theaters over the summer with its evocations of living life through the avenues Facebook provides - the status updates, tagged pictures and changing relationship statuses that have made the network so successful. This sense of reality and the closeness of Facebook as a commu-nity made even the teaser trailer of Mark Zuckerberg’s personal narrative that much more potent.

I’m pleased to report that the film lives up to the teaser. The same momentum that drives the trailer comes through in the film when Fincher puts actions next to their consequences. Zuckerberg infiltrates Harvard’s firewalls and constructs a website where Harvard students can choose the hotter of two girls. He later stands before a court bringing charges before him and asks boldly for recognition of his ability to identify holes in their internet security, which they may now fix.

Fincher knows that we know what will happen to Zuckerberg and to Facebook, so he doesn’t limit the

film with a chronological narration. The movie focus-es on the personality quirks that make Zuckerberg horrible while he creates an unprecedented internet phenomenon. In the final scene, Zuckerberg sits

alone in his swanky Silicon Valley office, realizing

that some of the same decisions that drove Facebook from obscurity to success might have also cost him his best relationships.

Jesse Eisenberg plays this version of Mark Zuckerberg - part Internet mastermind, part social-climbing troublemaker and part ignorant hedonist. From Eisenberg’s beginnings in films like The Squid and the Whale and Adventureland, this combina-tion of naïveté and callousness is familiar. Yet in The

Social Network, the formula is refreshing, perhaps because of the higher stakes and the level of emo-tional involvement in Zuckerberg’s pet project.

It’s not just Zuckerberg’s show, though. The sup-porting cast is also is dynamic. Justin Timberlake enlivens Silicon Valley’s bad boy Sean Parker, co-founder of Napster. Andrew Garfield plays Edouardo Saverin, Zuckerberg’s best friend and business part-ner - a relationship that becomes strained to dramatic effect.

The Stanford student that introduces Sean Parker to “TheFacebook” says what we feel and what Zuckerberg was aiming for: it’s addicting, it’s magic. Zuckerberg put it online: the obsession in college with everyone else and what they’re doing and, bet-ter yet, how knowing one person leads to knowing another. It’s the same fuel that ignited the success of Facebook.

Critics have already called The Social Network the film of this generation, and it makes sense. The film exudes epic grandeur, following our flawed hero to Facebook’s destiny that is intertwined with his own. It shows us the revolutionary nature of our age, the generation of the Internet and the as yet untapped power we have to change what came before us just as Zuckerberg has. For Zuckerberg, the path is not paved in gold but in court cases and broken friendships, and yet it is a path we will all travel nonetheless.

Hannah Montana:“Hannah Montana Forever”

Oct. 15, 2010 Walt Disney RecordsMiley Cyrus sings this soundtrack for the fourth and final season of Hannah Montana. The 11-song album (featur-ing one whole song possibly written by Miley herself) contains guest appearances from Sheryl Crow, Billy Ray Cyrus, and, of course, Iyaz. Be sure to check out Miley’s version of an age-old classic “Que Será.”

Weezer:“Death to False Metal”

Nov. 2, 2010 Epitaph RecordsSure to reignite the fierce debate over the quality of b-sides, Death to False Metal is a collection of b-sides and oddities from Weezer spanning their entire career. According to lead singer Rivers Cuomo, these are “songs that didn’t make the first seven Weezer records because they were either too weird or too pop or too metal or too punk.”

Brian Eno with Leo Abrahams and Jon Hopkins:“Small Craft on a Milk Sea”Nov. 2, 2010 Warp Records

Brian Eno of the Talking Heads returns with an album in-spired by soundtracks and scores. Most of the album was improvised, and random layering techniques were used so expect music like you’ve never heard before.

By Andri AlexandroueDitORiAl StAff

Orbis recommends: the month in music

It shows us the revolutionary nature of

our age, the generation of the Internet,

and the as yet untapped power we have

to change what came before us just as

Zuckerberg has.

October 2010 ORBIS • Page 7lIfeStyle

B e c o m i n g a v e g a n o r a v e g e t a r i a n i s b y f a r o n e o f t h e h e a l t h i e s t d e c i s i o n s y o u c a n m a k e , b u t t h e r e i s s t i l l s u c h a t h i n g a s a n u n h e a l t h y v e g e t a r i a n o r v e g a n . P e o p l e b e c o m e v e g e t a r i a n s f o r m a n y r e a s o n s a n d s o m e t i m e s d o n ’ t a l w a y s r e a l i z e h o w i m p o r -t a n t t h e i r d i e t b e c o m e s .

R e c e n t l y, I h a d s o m e c o n c e r n s w i t h m y o w n d i e t a n d p r o t e i n , a n d I k n o w t h i s i s t h e c o n c e r n o f m a n y v e g e t a r i a n s o r t h o s e c o n s i d e r i n g a d i e t c h a n g e . H e r e a r e s o m e t i p s I p i c k e d u p o n , w h a t I k n o w a n d h o w I c o m b a t t h i s i s s u e i n m y o w n d i e t .

M y p e r s o n a l d e c i s i o n t o b e c o m e a v e g -e t a r i a n w a s o n e b a s e d o n h e a l t h r e a s o n s , a s i t h a s b e e n f o r m a n y v e g a n s a n d v e g e t a r -i a n s I k n o w. Ve g e t a r i a n i s m i s g r e a t f o r t h e b o d y ’ s i m m u n e s y s t e m a n d c a r d i o v a s c u l a r h e a l t h . A l s o , y o u r b o d y h a s a m u c h e a s i e r

t i m e b r e a k i n g d o w n p l a n t p r o t e i n t h a n i t d o e s a n i m a l p r o t e i n .

I h a t e t o d i s a p p o i n t a l l y o u m e a t e a t e r s o u t t h e r e o r t h o s e w h o a r e j u s t v e n t u r i n g i n t o v e g e t a r i a n i s m , b u t y o u d o n o t n e e d t o e a t m e a t f o r p r o t e i n . Ye s , a n i m a l p r o d u c t s h a v e h i g h e r p r o t e i n c o n t e n t t h a n p l a n t s , b u t t h e y a r e a l s o h i g h e r i n f a t a n d c h o l e s t e r o l . I n p a r t , t h a t ’ s w h y a l o t o f v e g e t a r i a n s a n d v e g a n s h a v e a l e a n e r a p p e a r a n c e c o m p a r e d t o o u r c a r n i v o r o u s f r i e n d s .

B u t b e i n g a v e g e t a r i a n , a n d m o r e s p e c i f i -c a l l y a v e g a n , d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t w e c a n e a t w h a t e v e r w e c h o o s e s o l o n g a s i t d o e s n o t h a v e m e a t o r d a i r y. Ve g e t a r i a n s a n d v e g a n s m u s t m a k e s u r e t h a t w e m a i n t a i n a w e l l -b a l a n c e d a n d n u t r i e n t - d e n s e d i e t t o e n s u r e p r o p e r n u t r i t i o n . I r o n a n d p r o t e i n a r e t h e t w o m a i n d i e t a r y n e e d s l a c k i n g i n v e g e t a r -i a n a n d v e g a n d i e t s . T h a n k f u l l y, t h e s e t w o

u s u a l l y g o h a n d i n h a n d i n p l a n t - b a s e d f o o d s .

P r a c t i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , v e g e t a r i a n s a n d v e g a n s m u s t m a k e s u r e t h e y a r e e a t i n g p l e n t y o f b e a n s , w h o l e g r a i n s , g r e e n l e a f y v e g e t a b l e s a n d r a i s i n s t o k e e p u p t h e i r p r o -t e i n a n d i r o n l e v e l s . T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l y t r u e f o r a t h l e t e s .

A s a Va n d e r b i l t v a r s i t y a t h l e t e , r u n -n e r a n d b o x e r, I k n o w t h i s i s v i t a l d u r i n g r e c o v e r y f r o m a n i n j u r y. P r o t e i n i s o n e o f t h e m a i n s o u r c e s o f h e a l i n g p o w e r f o r t h e b o d y s o w h e n w e d o n ’ t h a v e i t , i t t a k e s o u r b o d i e s a l o t l o n g e r t o h e a l a n d a d j u s t t o i n j u r y. O u r b o d i e s a l w a y s s e n d u s w a r n i n g s i g n s w h e n w e a r e l a c k i n g p r o t e i n , a n d I e s p e c i a l l y n o t i c e t h e m i n t h e w e i g h t r o o m o r a f t e r a l o n g r u n .

I f y o u n o t i c e y o u a r e b e c o m i n g e a s i l y f a t i g u e d , m o r e t i r e d t h a n u s u a l , y o u r m u s -c l e s a r e a c h i n g o r y o u a r e s u f f e r i n g f r o m u n u s u a l h e a d a c h e s , t h e s e c o u l d b e s i g n s t o l o o k a t y o u r d i e t . I k n o w m o s t o f t h e s e s y m p t o m s a r e t y p i c a l o f c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s , b u t w h e n t h i n g s b e g i n t o g e t w o r s e , i t ’ s t i m e t o s t e p b a c k a n d l o o k a t y o u r l i f e s t y l e .

C o m b a t i n g a l a c k o f p r o t e i n i s n ’ t t o o h a r d . A l l y o u r e a l l y h a v e t o d o i s s w i t c h t o a h i g h p r o t e i n d i e t a s s o o n a s p o s s i b l e .

S o m e g r e a t s n a c k s t h a t I g r a b t h a t a r e

h i g h i n p r o t e i n a r e L u n a b a r s ( e s p e c i a l l y t h e S ’ M o r e s f l a v o r ) , P r i m a l S t r i p s ( w h i c h a r e v e g a n b e e f j e r k y m a d e f r o m Te m p e h — y o u c a n g e t t h e s e i n N e c t a r o n c a m p u s ) , b a n a n a s a n d o r g a n i c p e a n u t b u t t e r o n w h o l e g r a i n b r e a d a n d N a t u r e ’ s P a t h g r a n o l a b a r s . A l l o f t h e s e s n a c k s a r e v e g a n a n d c a n b e f o u n d o n c a m p u s , a t W h o l e F o o d s o r Tr a d e r J o e ’ s .

H o p e f u l l y t h i s w a s o f s o m e h e l p . I ’ l l b e p o s t i n g a l i s t o f s o m e g r e a t f o o d s I l i k e t o g r a b o n c a m p u s , a t Tr a d e r J o e ’ s a n d f r o m W h o l e F o o d s t h i s w e e k o n m y b l o g f o r s o m e m o r e d o r m r o o m f o o d . K e e p l i v i n g m e a n -i n g f u l l y.

S a r a h O ’ B r i a n i s a s o p h o m o r e b l o g g e r , h e a l t h m a v e n a n d t h e o n l y v e g a n s t u d e n t a t h l e t e o n t h e V a n d e r b i l t s p o r t s r o s t e r . R e a d h e r b l o g , t h e E d g y V e d g y , a t T h e E d g y V e d g y . B l o g s p o t . c o m .

The Edgy Vedgy: you are what you eatBy Sarah O’BrienlifeStyle COlumniSt

Progressive mixed drink:Log Cabin Republican

~2 parts strawberry schnoppes~1 part lime vodka~1 part Midori

Garnish with a gummy bear and serve as a shot. Careful not to choke!

Photo: Stacy Schlumbrecht

My personal decision to become a veg-

etarian was one based on health reasons,

as it has been for many vegans and veg-

etarians I know. Vegetarianism is great

for the body’s immune system and car-

diovascular health. Also, your body has

a much easier time breaking down plant

protein than it does animal protein.

Practically speaking, vegetarians and

vegans must make sure they are eating

plenty of beans, whole grains, green leafy

vegetables and raisins to keep up their

protein and iron levels.

Roommate sick of listening to your political rants?Get it out of your system by writing for Orbis!

Next meeting: Oct 21, Sarratt 363. Questions? [email protected]

Page 8 • ORBIS October 2010FEATuRES

Atheism, moral life not mutually exclusive

At this risk of sounding like someone who has “invest-ed [her] life in this world,” I am offended. I am a secular person (atheist, if you’re curious) who is choosing to invest her adult life in the progress of secular society.

Interestingly, and contrary to your apparent expecta-tions, I rarely drink, almost never party and have absolute-ly never used illegal drugs. I also devote some of my pre-cious free time reading books about morality (The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris just came out on Tuesday—I recommend reading it) and more than that to discussing moral issues I am passionate about. Moral concerns are paramount in my life and in the lives of many secular people.

How much more blatantly offensive could you be to someone like me? Implying that there are only two groups—those that are “still unhappy, moving from one addiction to the next, until their own dignity isn’t impor-tant to them anymore” and Christians—on Vanderbilt’s campus is not only obviously untrue but gallingly insult-ing.

I don’t feel I am exaggerating when I say you’ve made absolutely no attempt to distinguish between the world of “sex, drugs, and alcohol” and any other non-Christian group.

To take an obvious omission in the article— what about

students of other faiths? I think it’s fair to say I’ve seen fewer (majority Muslim) Malaysians partying than Christians. In fact, given this school’s religious breakdown—as you said, Christians are the majority on campus—it’s safe to assume

that most of the people who have “invested their lives” in sex, drugs and alcohol at this school are Christians, too.

Beyond considering Christians “self-righteous, judg-mental and degrading,” I would call efforts to spread Christianity misguided. I really do not doubt the sincerity of your beliefs, and if you seriously think people will go to Hell for failing to share your beliefs, I would expect you to evangelize.

You won’t hear me complaining about being judged by Christians when they spread their message—what worries

me is that you might succeed. What worries me is that you have invested your life (if I may turn it around) in discour-aging largely harmless behavior, like hooking up, and very positive initiatives like family planning.

I’m appalled that you are more concerned and devote far more time to denouncing first trimester abortion than, for instance, genocide, of which I have heard nothing from you. I feel sorry for you, honestly, because your life is con-trolled by beliefs for which there isn’t any evidence.

It is your right to talk about your beliefs and try to change other people’s minds. In fact, I wish people would think more about moral issues and discuss them more often. But don’t expect me and people like me to just sit and listen, and don’t call me intolerant when I respond with my own not-very-positive point of view on Christianity and religion in general.

I care less about your self-righteous attitude than the questionable values you promote and your clear ignorance about the world outside of Christianity.

I was taken by surprise when, in a column which sought to dispel the idea that Christians are judgmental, you dis-played such breath-taking carelessness with the facts about and even the feelings of non-Christians. I must say, I feel much more angry than “degraded.”

As someone who sees no reason to believe we are get-ting a life after this one, I have no shame in saying that I’ve invested everything in “this world,” and correcting you and your doctrines is making it a better place.

By Martha ElmoreStAff WritEr

I’m appalled that you are more concerned and devote far more

time to denouncing first trimester abortion than, for

instance, genocide.

June Griffin is a fierce member of the Tea Party. In fact, she claims she started the Tea Parties. According to Griffin, “Around the year 1990, I had a little business card printed up with the words: Tennessee Tea Party, complete with my name and a little teacup in the up-per right-hand corner, with contact information. But you weren’t ready yet!”

TN gubernatorial race: candidates from the fringeJune Griffi n - Independent

James “Crazy Man James” Reesor’s website is an expe-rience, and Orbis recommends it to everyone. Reesor believes in what he calls the “Amerijericho” Dream: “Christians in every nation are invited to enter, inhabit and dominate Tennessee and the surrounding ten states. We want to create a new state-of-mind nation to serve as a refuge from the insanity of a wicked world.” Reesor believes we need military power “if we want peace-lov-ing people to be defended from rebellious souls. Fools can be very dangerous.”

James Reesor - Independent

Samuel David Duck is a staunch conservative with “tra-ditional” values. Duck has a lot to say about children. “Parents have a biblical obligation to discipline their children. Abuse is not protected. Discipline is. Parents can spank their children or even wash their mouth out with soap or require them to work in the home. Chil-dren belong with their parents. Only exceptional cases of abuse should a child be removed from his parents.”

Samuel David Duck - Independent

Collected by Meghan O’Neill

October 2010 ORBIS • Page 9FEATuRES

It was a pretty awkward situation.Vanderbilt student organization Youth for Western Civilization

hosted conservative writer Richard Spencer in Furman Hall on October 7th for a widely-publicized presentation in which Spencer harshly criticized affirmative action policies.

Spencer argued that affirmative action harms the economy and compromises the education system’s quality. The surprising thing was that Spencer also displayed clear racial biases, which the audi-ence challenged during a question-and-answer session following the presentation.

“I am not a scientist, but I would say that genetics has some-thing to do with [the achievement gap]” Spencer said.

Spencer also stated that without government intervention, people of different racial backgrounds would self-segregate, and that segregation had been a boon to African Americans before the civil rights movement.

“I don’t advocate racial strife. To the contrary, I think a great deal of racial hostility is created by the forcing of people like this into some liberally engineered environment,” Spencer said. “Left to their own, diversity is something that can only be administered top down.”

The presentation, which lasted about 35 minutes, included a slide show which contained typographical and formatting errors. The crowd was racially diverse, and many wore rainbow pins in solidarity with this month’s nationwide rash of harassment-induced suicides among gay youths.

During the question-and-answer session, audience members criticized Spencer for preexisting biases and methodological errors. In one series of slides, Spencer displayed medical licensing data from 2005 and 2010 in order to draw conclusions about malpractice fatalities in 1994.

As the question-and-answer session progressed, Spencer became visibly angry, at one point rejecting YWC president Devin Saucier’s offer to end the session.

Spencer also argued that affirmative action has compromised

the integrity of the armed forces. Spencer criticized the military’s response to the 2009 Fort Hood shooting, during which General George Casey reaffirmed the U.S. military’s commitment to diver-sity.

“Diversity is the number one priority in the military. As opposed, say, to fighting wars,” Spencer said.

Spencer also expressed concern that by allowing individuals who are not ready for higher education into universities, we run the risk of damaging their self-esteem.

As is characteristic of racist commentators working to reach a wider audience, Spencer showed ambivalence about making outright racist claims.

“If left to your own devices, would you associate with people who weren’t white?” asked Tristan Call, a postgraduate student in the Department of Anthropology.

“That’s kind of a personal question,” Spencer said. “I guess you could go look at my Facebook friends.”

Spencer’s Facebook friend list is not publicly accessible, but his profile picture displays him holding a firearm.

Richard Pitt, a professor in the Vanderbilt Department of Sociology, concedes that there are no easy answers when it comes to affirmative action. However, he questions why organizations like YWC sensationalize the issue instead of confronting the whole complexity of the debate.

“What they choose to overlook is the fact that there remain real disparities between non-whites and ‘Westerners’ in American society,” Pitt said. “Why aren’t groups like YWC concerned about the costs of racism, stereotyping and bias on the economy and on society?”

Spencer, who is executive editor of the webzine AlternativeRight.com, recently dropped out of the Duke University History Department’s graduate program. While he attended Duke, he edited the New Right Review, a conservative blog. During the question-and-answer session, Spencer refused to discuss his aca-demic credentials.

Some in the audience found Spencer’s presentation offensive.“To me, he was arguing for a pro-segregationist world,” said

Santa Patton, a senior.

The leadership of Youth for Western Civilization has consis-tently denied that the organization holds a racial agenda.

In 2009, however, Spencer and YWC co-founder Kevin DeAnna both attended the H. L. Mencken Club conference in Baltimore. Other speakers at the conference included former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan and Steve Sailer, a columnist who has been criticized for his claim that there is a correlation between race and intelligence.

“I mean, what do you mean by racist? Define racist. Because ‘racist,’ you know, people just use [the term] willy nilly,” YWC president Devin Saucier said.

“When you go to a doctor, you no longer have the assurance that the doctor you are visiting, no matter what racial background the doctor is, is qualified,” Saucier said. “And a lot of that is because of lowering standards.”

Both Spencer and YWC have experienced backlash from the white nationalist and other far-right movements, who accuse them of downplaying their racism in order to market themselves to a wider audience. In particular, Spencer is seen by some as a traitor because he does not affirm Jewish conspiracy theories.

Professor Pitt cautions that a raucous reaction to a speaker like Richard Spencer plays into the interests of a poorly-attended fringe group like YWC. As an alternative, he suggested that it would be interesting to see students come together and organize a separate event with a speaker who offered another perspective.

“Probably the natural response would be to protest Spencer, standing outside with signs, interrupting his speech with bursts of angry slogans. That would be the wrong way to go. Personalities like Spencer thrive on such behavior because it makes them mar-tyrs for their cause,” said Pitt. “He, and YWC with him, gets to say, ‘see how hateful and irrational my enemies are’ while he stands there in suit and tie looking reasonable as he spouts his brand of intellectual right-wing extremism.”

The crowd remained respectful during the event. Many took Spencer’s unorthodox viewpoints in stride.

“He made a powerful case for the power of self-deception,” said Alejandro Arengo, a graduate student. “I thought that the crowd was pretty interesting.”

Youth for Western Civilization hosts racist speakerBy Jon ChristianEditor-in-ChiEf

richard Spencer, editor of Alternativeright.com, identifies as a paleoconservative.photo courtesy of VAIC

Page 10 • ORBIS October 2010TORCH VS. ORBIS

Torch: death penalty discourages crime

The death penalty is a highly contentious issue that cuts into all parts of the spectrum. I know many conservative Christians who are adamantly against capital punishment for religious reasons and other conservatives who are against it for practical reasons. Arguments against it range from the death penalty’s “inhumanity” to its supposed inef-fectiveness at curbing crime.

The justice aspect tends to rear its ugly head, “sanctity of all life” being the refrain, but is it unjust to execute men like Dahmer, Gacy, Hitler or Pol Pot? We all have a right to life, but in the process of committing unspeakable acts, all those men gave up that right as well as others commonly afforded to people. It is the responsibility of the legislature to write laws that reflect which crimes deserve execution and which are not. At least in these extreme examples of mass murderers, serial killers, torturers and cannibals, they deserve to die.

The issue of cost to society is often bandied about by politicians looking out for the public interest. Many oppo-nents of capital punishment bring up statistics of capital cases costing more than prison time, and these statistics are entirely correct. However, what opponents fail to account for is the future imprisonment of inmates. A study by Tennessee’s Comptroller of the Treasury was often cited because it said that trials involving the death penalty cost 48 percent more than other murder trials, but most people

missed that the same study stated that executions saved the state $773,736 when compared to life without parole cases and $680,549 when compared to life with the possibility of parole cases.

Another oft-cited but misleading statement comes from the Death Penalty Information Center which claims that more than 100 innocent people have been released from death row since the 1970s. However, acquittals don’t come from being innocent. Instead, they come from not being able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a person’s guilt. In such cases, a person could still be guilty and just have gotten away with the crime. DNA results freeing death row inmates just makes it clearer that convictions based on DNA are more trustworthy than they have ever been before.

So far, I have concentrated on refuting the negatives of the death penalty but have not focused on the positive contributions to society. One is recidivism and deterrence. Prisons are highly volatile and violent places. In 2001 and 2002, 129 inmates in state prisons and jails were victims of homicides. While life without the possibility of parole may seem like a reasonable punishment, murderers can still murder again even behind bars and do so frequently. However, the murders behind bars don’t take into account the murders by former prisoners. For the whole nation, 67.5 percent of prisoners are arrested again within three years of being released. Of all those new crimes, almost 3,000 were murders.

While most murderers are sentenced to serve twenty years, they actually tend to serve fewer than ten, a pitiful

rate for people who have taken another life, and even lifers can end up seeing the streets again. Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger paroled 103 lifers in his first two years as California’s governor. Even though a jury of their peers has found a person guilty and deserving of life imprisonment, nothing can stop some bleeding-heart gov-ernor from paroling a criminal and sending him back out into free society. Examples range from the inept Michael Dukakis who vetoed bills to ban furloughs for first-degree murderers as Massachusetts governor to Mike Huckabee, who paroled a convicted rapist serving a life sentence that went on to rape and murder another girl.

Finally, the greatest positive to capital punishment is deterrence. Murders spiked when the U.S. banned the death penalty, while many death penalty states have lower homicide rates or recidivism. Many criminals do not take prison seriously. It is no big deal to them because prison is something they are accustomed to and even a source of power for some gangs. Harsh punishment deters criminals who fear the death penalty: 99.9 percent of criminals facing the death penalty argue for life imprisonment, and five to one admitted that capital punishment was a big enough deterrent to prevent them from murdering their victims, according to one study.

Life is sacred and the state should spare no means in acquiring justice. It is a great disservice to society to allow murderous criminals to spend their lives in prison or, God forbid, to walk free.

By Winston DavisTorch sTaff

The World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10 specifically focuses on combating the use of the death penalty system in the United States — and with good reason. Over the past 34 years — the U.S. ended it 10-year moratorium on the death penalty in 1977— there have been 1,229 executions in the U.S. according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The year-by-year totals of the past two decades contain significantly higher num-bers of executions than in the 1970s and 1980s and show no sign of declining. While some view the death penalty as a long-standing, generally accepted positive deterrent for crime, the supposed benefits of the death penalty on American society must be reexamined on multiple levels.

Death penalty proponents point to costs and econom-ics as a key reason for keeping the death penalty embed-ded in the American judicial system because they believe it would cost more to throw death row inmates back into prison than it would to simply execute them. In the state of New Jersey, however, this proved not to be the case. A Policy Perspective report found that taxpayers ended up paying around $253 million since 1983 just to maintain the state’s capital punishment system even though no executions occurred after 1983. As costs grew higher and the New Jersey budget became strained, the New Jersey General Assembly finally decided to abolish the death

penalty in 2007.Others who support the death penalty make the seem-

ingly reasonable moral case that execution serves as a form of complete justice for the families of those affected by the murderer or rapist’s crime. This argument neglects the potential for exoneration and the existence of a legal system skewed against the poor, two cases in which jus-tice is actually taken away from those awaiting death. According to Amnesty USA, 138 individuals on death row have been exonerated since 1973. This troubling statistic excludes those executed despite guilt, a number bound to be even greater since their cases are so often posthumously ignored. In an irrevocable fashion, the potential for error in capital punishment dissolves basic concepts of justice.

There are also those who are denied justice and sen-tenced to death simply for not having enough money to hire an adequate attorney who could properly argue their case. In 2001, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found that twenty percent of Washington state’s death row inmates were represented by disbarred, suspended or arrested lawyers despite the state’s disbarment rate being less than one percent. An inability to hire qualified lawyers because of socioeconomic status illustrates the shaky grounds on which executions sometimes rest.

In terms of criminal deterrence, an area that some believe to be the death penalty’s strongest feature, capi-tal punishment demonstrates very little effectiveness. Former Justice Stevens, writing in a 2008 Supreme Court

decision, declared, “Despite 30 years of empirical research in the area, there remains no reliable statistical evidence that capital punishment in fact deters potential offend-ers.” The 2009 FBI Uniform Crime Report shows that although the South accounts for over 80 percent of the country’s total executions, it still has the highest murder rate of all regions. Without its primary value as a deter-rent, the death penalty loses all momentum as a force capable of altering societal ills.

Though the movement against the death penalty in the U.S. has not gained great traction, abolishing capital pun-ishment still remains a salient issue — especially in the state of Tennessee, which made the controversial decision in 2007 to issue its first death by electrocution in 47 years. This practice was a policy that Nebraska banned in 2008 for violating the eighth amendment’s protection against “cruel and unusual punishment.” As of October 2010, 87 inmates currently await execution on death row.

As three states (New Jersey, New York and New Mexico) have abolished the death penalty just in the past three years, the conventional wisdom behind the U.S.’s embrace of the death penalty must be called into ques-tion. 41 people have already been executed this year, and hundreds more await the same fate on death row throughout the country. High economic costs, targeting of the poor, general ineffectiveness and the risk of kill-ing the innocent show that these potential executions are unnecessary and that the death penalty should no longer be a part of the American judicial system.

By steve harrisonorBis sTaff

Orbis: death penalty outdated, ineffective

October 2010 ORBIS • Page 11OP/Ed

Keep the heat on VSC

Fight back against rising intolerance

Recently, I’ve noticed a very disturbing trend in our country: a rise in intolerance. Actually, a more precise characterization of the trend is that intolerant views have now become a part of American discourse which is accepted by more and more people. While it used to be taboo to make unwarranted assump-tions on people based on their race, religion or lifestyle, it seems like some people — most notably politicians whose aim is to overthrow the “Washington establishment” — are actually using this rhetoric to attract voters. The scary thing is that it might actu-ally work.

What exactly has led to this shift in American politics? The Ground Zero mosque controversy seems to explain at least part of the phenomenon. This issue has spurred passionate debate across the country and has unarguably stirred up some anti-Islamic sentiment.

It’s understandable — well, almost undertstandable — that some people would condemn the building of a mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero, but it makes absolutely no sense to complain about a mosque being built in Murfreesboro, TN, or Temecula, CA. Correct me if I’m wrong, but neither of these towns were the targets of major terrorist attacks!

The cursory explanation for the opposition to mosque build-ing is that mosques are havens of religious extremism that breed homegrown terrorists who hate America. Intolerance, rather than actual facts, is at the root of these gross mischaracterizations.

The sad thing is that these dangerous ideas are multiplying like crazy and leading politicians to make statements that are a less than truthful. For example, U.S. Senate candidate and Tea Party darling Sharron Angle made a comment suggesting that Sharia law has taken over U.S. law in the towns of Dearborn, MI (a predominantly Muslim town) and Frankford, TX. Assuming that a town wants to follow Sharia law just because it has a large Muslim population is simply ridiculous. What’s worse is that false statements like these will only lead to more intolerance.

Angle is currently leading in Nevada 42-40 against Harry Reid. It scares me that someone with such intolerant, poorly informed views is poised to become the next U.S. Senator

from Nevada and will have a part in this country’s decision-making.

Intolerance has even spread beyond the fringe and is mak-ing its way onto national television. On Oct. 3, ABC’s “This Week with Christiane Amanpour” featured a debate on wheth-er or not Americans should fear Islam. Individuals who believe Americans should fear Islam mostly based their opinions on “us vs. them” rhetoric and did not accept the fact that Islam, like Christianity, has may different factions, some of which differ radically from more moderate mainstream ones.

I think it is quite telling that we have to a have a dialogue about a particular religion’s threat. Don’t get me wrong. I think dialogue, especially in times like these, fosters cooperation and understanding in disparate groups. However, I think the fact that such a dialogue is necessary shows that tolerance in the U.S. is taking a backseat to misunderstanding and fear.

The negative attitude Americans have toward Muslims is manifesting itself in poll results. A September poll from ABC shows that 49 percent of Americans have an unfavorable view of Islam, compared with only 37 percent that see Islam in a favorable light. Americans have not had such an unfavorable view of Islam since right after September 11.

The upswing in anti-Muslim sentiment might be explained by the current state of the economy. Historically, in times of economic collapse, Americans lash out against particular ethnic or religious groups. For example, the financial crisis of 1837, which resulted in a five-year depression, led to the brief flour-ishing of anti-Catholic, anti-Irish nativism. It’s unfortunate that the U.S. would fall victim to similar forces 170 years later. Then again, it was only 70 years ago that the U.S. government placed Japanese-American citizens in internment camps because of fears that they represented a threat to national security.

I’m not suggesting that our country is on the verge of plac-ing Muslim-Americans in internment camps; I think enough citizens would mobilize to make this scenario impossible to carry out.

However, intolerance does have real risks. Treating a seg-ment of society as “extremist” or dangerous could lead to that segment’s radicalization, thus potentially turning the fears about Muslims into a reality.

By aimee sobhanicommenTary eDiTor

O n O c t . 6 , t h e V a n d e r b i l t S t u d e n t C o m m u n i c a t i o n s b o a r d m o v e d t o p o s t p o n e t h e d e c i s i o n o n w h e t h e r t o s e l l W R V U ’ s F M b r o a d c a s t i n g l i c e n s e u n t i l J a n . 2 0 1 1 . T h i s i s g r e a t n e w s f o r t w o r e a s o n s : i t m e a n s t h a t t h e V S C b o a r d i s l i s t e n i n g t o t h e c a m p u s a n d c o m m u n i t y r e s p o n s e , a n d i t m e a n s t h a t a n t i - s a l e a c t i v i s t s a n d a l l i e s h a v e a l m o s t t h r e e m o n t h s t o p r e p a r e f o r t h e n e x t s t a g e o f t h e d e b a t e .

A t t h e s a m e t i m e , a n t i - s a l e a c t i v i s t s n e e d t o r e m e m b e r t h a t t h i s c o u l d b e a c a l c u l a t e d m o v e o n t h e p a r t o f t h e b o a r d . I t i s e a s y f o r a m o v e m e n t t o l o s e e n e r g y o v e r a f e w m o n t h s , a n d i n s t e a d o f l e t t i n g t h e a n t i - s a l e m o v e m e n t s l o w d o w n , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t h a t t h e m o v e m e n t ’ s l e a d e r s h i p u s e t h i s t i m e t o

o r g a n i z e a n d t o c o n t i n u e t o b u i l d s u p p o r t .T h e p r o - W R V U r e s p o n s e f r o m t h e c o m -

m u n i t y , s t u d e n t b o d y a n d a l u m n i b a s e h a s b e e n o v e r w h e l m i n g . T h i s i s b e c a u s e W R V U i s a w i d e l y - l o v e d N a s h v i l l e r e s o u r c e t h a t w e a r e n o t r e a d y t o f o r f e i t a n d b e c a u s e V S C ’ s l o g i c j u s t d o e s n o t m a k e s e n s e .

V S C h a s e x p l a i n e d t h e p r o p o s e d s a l e a s t h e o n l y w a y t o c o m b a t a l o o m i n g b u d g e t d e f i c i t . W i t h t h i s f i n a n c i a l r e a l i t y i n m i n d , w h y d i d t h e y c h o o s e t h i s y e a r t o b u i l d t h e u l t r a - m o d e r n S t u d i o C a n d t o r e v a m p V a n d e r b i l t T e l e v i s i o n w i t h n e w s t u d i o s p a c e a n d e q u i p m e n t ?

V S C ’ s d i r e c t o r o f s t u d e n t m e d i a C h r i s C a r r o l l h a s b e e n s h u t t i n g d o w n c o l l e g e r a d i o s t a t i o n s a t o t h e r u n i v e r s i t i e s s i n c e t h e

1 9 9 0 s —l o n g b e f o r e I n t e r n e t r a d i o b e c a m e a m e d i o c r e r e a l i t y . C l e a r l y , C a r r o l l a n d V S C h a v e a n a g e n d a w h i c h t h e y a r e w o r k i n g t o r e a l i z e a t V a n d e r b i l t .

N o d o u b t i t i s a r a t i o n a l a g e n d a , b u t i t i s o n e w h i c h f a c t o r s i n a l o w e s t i m a t e o f t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d p o p u l a r i t y o f c o l l e g e r a d i o . I t i s a n a g e n d a w h i c h w a s c r a f t e d b e h i n d c l o s e d d o o r s a n d w i t h o u t c o n s u l t -i n g t h e W R V U s t a f f , a n d f o r t h e s e r e a s o n s i t i s a n a g e n d a w h i c h h a s g e n e r a t e d s t r o n g b a c k l a s h .

A t V a n d e r b i l t , W R V U i s a w i d e l y - l o v e d r e s o u r c e , a n d t h e c o m m u n i t y h a s m o b i l i z e d a g a i n s t t h e s a l e . I t ’ s u p t o a l l o f u s t o m a k e s u r e t h a t w e d o n ’ t l e t c o l l e g e r a d i o d i e h e r e .

ORBIS ORBIS ORBISPage 12 • ORBIS October 2010THE FLIP SIDE

Trick or treating? Don’t bother!

Back at the pumpkin patch, we received word on what those tax-and-spend liberals are planning to give out to the lil’ uns this year.

Amplifying Vanderbilt’s Conservative VoicesVol. 10/No. 2/Oct/2010

Muslims Build Terrorist Camps on

Ground Zero, All Over Nationp. 9

Homeless Litter Streets in Newspaperp. 10

World Seeks Segregation

p. 11

Prisons Make Murderers out of Murderersp. 10

Liberal Take-Over Imminent

Orbis puts on its bunny ears and cottontail for

the weekend-long drunk fest of a Halloween alibi.

Enjoy these alternate reality headlines.

When reading Orbis has got you plum tired, cut up the pages and put ‘em on your feet!

1. Stack 12 pages.2. Outline foot.3. Staple inside outline, allow space for strap.4. Cut. You have your sole.5. Make a three-inch wide strap for each foot.6. Place each end six pages up from the bottom page of the sole.7. Staple or glue.8. Bind rough edges with tape.9. Prance around in your well-read glory!

Vandy Fems: suffrage, snickersVSN: candy corn, glued to a tableYWC: travel-size toothpasteFrannie Boyle: religious literatureWRVU: three pennies

WRVU Not Sold Yet?

Where’s the money!

p. 11

“The Flip Side” created by Andri Alexandrou